Three CHS grads, perfect 4.0 at USU Eastern, will be commencement valedictorian, salutatorians

Elise Vogel

Rachel Goodrich

Jaylee Nielsen

Three graduates of Carbon High School will serve as the top of their graduating class at USU Eastern's 76th commencement exercises on Saturday, April 26, in the BDAC. All three achieved perfect 4.0 grade point averages.

Serving as valedictorian is Elise Vogel, daughter of Ron and Lorilyn Vogel, who graduated from Carbon High School with high honors in 2012. She gained an interest in science her freshman year at USU Eastern with a special liking to her biology and chemistry classes. Admittedly, she enjoyed all of the classes she took the past two years on the Price campus.

She worked as a chemistry tutor and grown to love the subject in which she excelled over every other student in her classes. She is being named outstanding chemistry student of 2014 at the awards ceremony on April 25. Her mother, Lorilyn King Vogel, served as valedictorian of her graduating class at College of Eastern Utah.

Vogel plans to continue her education at the University of Utah in the fall.

The co-salutatorian is Rachel Alonda Goodrich, daughter of Russell and Karen Goodrich. She graduated from Carbon High School with high honors in 2013 where she took concurrent enrolment and was involved in track and cross country.

Goodrich helped organize a number of musical programs at the Price LDS Institute. She plans to continue her education at Southern Utah University to pursue degrees in both business administration and criminal justice.

The second co-salutatorian is Jaylee Nielsen, daughter of Lee and Jaynie Rae Nielsen. She achieved a perfect GPA through her junior high and high school years. She earned academic all-state in tennis four years and was runner-up in region as Carbon's General Sterling Scholar.

Nielsen enjoyed her college experience, especially the accounting classes. She aspires to own a business and hopes this is a stepping-stone for that goal. She considers music as one of her prized possessions. She has playing piano since she was five and the flute since she was 12. One of her favorite quotes is, "for life is like a piano, what you get out of it depends on how you play it."